Household implement



Jan. 9, 194i). K, mcg-:TER 2,186,430

HoUsEHopn IMQEMENT Filed Feb. 16- 1937 INVENTOR ,Kb/rb Richter ATTORNEY o* y. .ST

yalso particular advantages. strongA leverage and grips ,tightlyy the cap of the indenitely.

Patented Jan. 9, 1940 l t l f HoUsEHoLD IMBLEMENT y kKan Riemer, Elkinsratie-Pa. y y

Application February 16, '1937, Serial No.'fl25,959 l y o y .ft claims. (ol. 'sil-sgi) My combined 4household innzllementV combinesv several are combined with the handle, "especially the jar opener and closer, and the canl openers and bottle stopper. LThe jar *opener alone, has

jar in :such away thatit isfnot deformed. This is important for the housewife who puts up her carininglin gla'ss ars having a metal cap that screws down on a rubber or other compressible gasket positioned between thel bottom of the cap and a shoulder on the jar, to seal the jar. A womans hand is often' too `weak to turn the cap sufficiently forcibly, and any deformation of the cap will cause it to fit imperfectly and admit air. Besides, the cap can be taken off'by my device without deformation, and can be re-used This facility helps the woman who y preserves for her own -familys use, for she reuses her jars repeatedly.

Describing now my device:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my device. Fig. 2`

is a section online 2--2 of Fig. 1, in position for use in unscrewing the cap of ya jar.'` Fig. 3 is a View of rthe bottom of the device.

The device has a handle 1 that serves for each of the instrumentalities, and has the rib v lli that strengthens it, preferably at right angles to its main portion placed at the side. This may.

be struck out from a blank. In the main body of the handle 1 is a bottle cap remover 9 which I.

usually form with a straight, edge b opposite a curved edge c and place at the opposite end of thev handle from the can opening,instrumentalitiea The can opening devices 4 and 8 areplaced at theA opposite end of the handle from the bottle opener and may be of any form of can opening devices, either cutting or prying. The instruy mentality 4 is shown as the ordinary cutting knife formed out of the end of the main body elty of my device in respectto them lies 'in the of the handle, and the instrumentality 8 mayv be formed from vthe extremity of the rib. These instrumentalities are well known, and the novextremely ecient way they are combined with the handle 1. A cork screw I2 may be added to this handle. It is nested in thehandle and the It 'gives a very of the handle can touch the loop 21.

slot I9 permits it to `be extendedon either'side Vof the vmain part of -the handle 1. The rib I0 projectsgabove it land when the implement rests either side `Vuppermost, prevents itfrom catching in la table cloth or ysirnila'rarticle. The cork 5 "screw I2 vis carried Aby fthe vshaft I3,which is join- `nalled at one end of "the rib IEl;l The inclusion of the cork sci-ew makes avery complete household instrument, vand the 'Way it fis; mounted is novel,

but, .as comparatively Vfew'fbottles lare now cork mi sealed, land litadds substantially to the manufacturing costs,rit'mayfb`e-omitted, where cheapness is a requisite.v

`The element-of the cap remover and cap place is novel in its construction and'exceedingly efi- 15 cient` operation. Itsl 'chief part is astrap of flexible material `of sufficient 'strength "5, which is adapted to encompass theA sides of the cap`2 I, u in a way that makes itslightly slidable around f it until the strap is clamped tightly around it'20 when it grips unslidably the cap 2|, but in such a way that nothing but the leather contacts the cap. The portion of the handle shown to the right of the strap in the drawing, does not contact with the gripping loop "21 of thestrap 5 25 the latter being drawn tightenough around the capto cause the latter to turn before any part One end I1 of this'strapy 5, is rmlyffastened to the handle 1, preferablyy at the lower side of the main 30 portion of the handle and by the fasteners I4, (screws, rivets or otherfastening devices of 'suitable character). 'It is slotted,` if necessary, tov

" prevent it from interfering with the movement `lof the "corkscrew I2. The strap 5 is acted upon' 35 1 by, an abutment, preferably the transverse edge i6 of a narrow :slot 22 in the handle `of the implement and has a loop 21 adapted to encompass the cap 2| and the free end 6 ofthe strap cont y tacts with the jaw I5, which, in conjunction with 40 the abutment It, tightens the loopI 21 on` the cap, until the cap is firmly gripped by it, when the handle 1 is turned. The lip or jaw I5 is vinclined at an acute angle withthe handle to- Wards thatv part thereof that is shown in the 45 drawing as lying to the leftlfof the slot. It is close enoughy to the transverseedge of this slot` and long enough to engage the portion of the `-free end ofthe strap adjacent to the slot on the side thereofl toward thev loop 21 where it lies 50 in closefcontact with the portion of the'xed end of the strap lying in the slot.v When the handle is turned it is in position to press the two thick-` f nesses of the strap lclosely together drawing down the free portion of the strap and clamping the loop 21 tightly around the cap and press the two portions of strapping down hard on each other. When turning the handle to loosen the cap, the lip or jaw I5 will be withdrawn toward the handle still more, and further away from the loop 21, and the abutment formed by the edge of the slot also pulled away from the loop 21, the frictional hold of the loop around the cap and the pull upon this loop on the strap exerted by the abutment I6 being the sole means of loosening and removing the cap. No portion of the handle comes into contact with the loop 21 or with the cap itself. If the device is skillfully made and operated with reasonable care, the jaw I5 will contract the loop 21 as (looking at Fig. 2) the handle is pulled, by pulling on the bite of the strap 5 and pulling it down and very tight around the cap 2l, and thel handle itself will never come into Contact with the cap or with the loop. The jaw I5 may be provided by striking up a lipy out of the material of the handle, and the striking up of this lip will form a slot', as above set vforth, for the passage of the strap. The implement, as shown in Fig. 2, is in position to open the cap, the jar being supposed to lie away from the observer. By reversing the position of the jar or of the opener, the cap may bef closed down much more iirmly than by hand, and without any danger of deforming the cap. The strap 5 may have the loop 21 put around the cap andthe end 6 of the strap drawn down rmly while the loop and cap occupy the position shown in Fig. 2, or the cap and loop may be positioned a little to the left of their position in that ligure. The turning of theA handle around the abutment I6 will cause the jaw I5 to press down the part of the strap in contact with it, causing the clamping of the loop 21 around cap 2| which will cause the loop to become so tight that, if properly handled, the cap may be unscrewed without bringing the handle into any contact with the cap 2l.

While I have described very minutely and with great detail the construction of my implement, I do not wish these details to be thought by the reader of this to be limitations on my invention, and do declare that my invention is not limited to anything less than the structure defined by the claims attached to this specication.

I claim:

1. An opener for removing the capsl from preserving jars, comprising a flat handle having a slot intermediate between the ends of said handle, said slot having a transverse edge, a strapv fastened xedly at one end to the handle and passing through said slot and forming a loop encompassing said cap, and having a free end also passing through said slot, but in the opposite direction, a lip positioned at said slot opposite said transverse edge and forming part of said handle and set at an acute angle with said handle and inclined towards said transverse edge of said slot; the inclined lip and the transverse edge of said slot being positioned closely enough together to hold the two portions of said strap passing through said slot, closely against each other, the said lip bearing solelyon the portion of the free end of the strap passing through the slot, and being free from all portions of said loop.

2. The device described in claim 1, wherein the inclined lip is struck up from the material of the handle.

' KARL RICHTER. 

